Mystery of the Violet Citadel
by aviatrix8
Summary: When a reclusive archmage disappears from his tower room in the Violet Citadel, Jadaar and Asric take it upon themselves to solve the mystery. Completed.
1. Prologue

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. World of Warcraft and all related characters are property of Blizzard, and are used without permission. (Any original characters were created by myself however, and may not be used without permission.)

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This is my first Warcraft fanfic, as well as my first mystery story, so I hope I get everything right... This story eventually features Jadaar and Asric (AKA those two guys who used to argue at the inn in the Dalaran sewers, but are now downing a few cold ones at the Argent tourney ;).

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World of Warcraft fanfic:

"Mystery of the Violet Citadel"

by Avi

Miki carefully ascended the stairs of the Violet Citadel with a basket of food tucked under her arm; being an apprentice mage of Dalaran could be trying at times, as one often had to run tedious tasks for whomever sorcerer they were currently training under. However, Archmage Vargoth was one of the nicer mentors Miki had had, so far; he was always happy to let her peruse the many books in his tower room, and indeed, she had spent many an enjoyable hour up there reading, or merely chatting with the Archmage.

To be honest, Miki felt a little sorry for him; Vargoth seemed pretty lonely to her, and yet he _never_ left his room in the Citadel. Still, she couldn't really blame him for being so reclusive, considering what had happened to him in Outland.

So the young apprentice didn't mind bringing the Archmage his breakfast every morning... Well, not _too_ much. (As Vargoth himself liked to joke, even though he could conjure food and drink at will, he _did_ got sick of bread and water, after a while.) The only downside to this was the long flights of stairs she was forced to climb up every morning...

Miki sighed. Vargoth _had_ given her a teleport spell that would port her directly into his tower room, but she wasn't that confident with casting teleport magic yet (she only had a range of about ten to twenty feet, and even her Blink spell gave her some trouble). Besides, even she knew that entering a mage's personal chambers without permission was considered bad form; mages valued their privacy, and Vargoth was no exception. In fact, he had actually explained to her how his room was magically sealed; the only way that anybody could enter was with the aforementioned teleport spell.

Miki then breathed a sigh of relief, as she finally reached the balcony outside Vargoth's tower room. After taking a moment to catch her breath, the apprentice knocked on the door.

"Archmage Vargoth? It's me, Miki. I'm here with breakfast."

There was no reply. Miki paused for a moment, then shrugged. Vargoth was expecting her, after all; he was probably caught up in reading yet another book. She then slowly began to recite the spell that would teleport her past the room's magical barrier.

With a burst of magic, she materialized in the centre of the room. Placing the basket on a nearby table, she began to look around for her master.

"Archmage Vargoth?" she called out. "Archmage Vargoth?"

The room was perfectly circular, and well-furnished, as befitting of an archmage of Dalaran. There wasn't really anywhere to hide in here; besides, Vargoth was always happy to see Miki, and greeted her with a smile whenever she came to visit him.

However, Miki's eyes widened, as she realized that there was no one in the room except her.

xXx

It was about an hour later. Archmage Vargoth's once lonely tower room was now filled with people, all of them mages; many of them were casting various detect magic and invisibility spells, as they tried to determine what had happened to the room's former occupant. Meanwhile, at one corner of the room sat a worried Miki, who was being questioned by the chief apprentice instructor.

"Now Miki, are you certain that Archmage Vargoth didn't just go somewhere without telling you?" asked Instructor Viktor.

"But Archmage Vargoth _never_ leaves his room!" sobbed Miki, obviously distraught. "That's why he requested that I bring him breakfast every morning!"

"But surely he must go outside, sometimes..." reasoned the instructor.

"Actually, Archmage Vargoth was very well-known for being a recluse," interrupted an older, feminine voice.

Both mages turned, to see a gray-haired woman in elaborate robes walk towards them; the remains of a teleport spell faded in her wake.

Viktor's eyes widened in recognition. "Archmage Modera!" he gasped. "Surely this matter shouldn't be of any concern to a member of the Council of Six--"

"On the contrary," replied Archmage Modera, with a wry smile. "Vargoth is an old friend, who has been through a lot. The least I could do is offer my help in the investigation."

"Of course," stammered Viktor, and bowed. "Forgive my impudence."

Just then, one of the other mages walked up to them. "Excuse me, Archmage Modera?" he said, and bowed. "We've throughly scoured this room with magic, and there's no sign of Archmage Vargoth being anywhere in here; nor is there any sign about his current whereabouts. We're now trying to pinpoint his current location, but it seems that the room's magical shielding is interfering with our scrying; our spells insist that he's still around here."

Archmage Modera nodded grimly. "I understand." She then looked around the room. "And there appears to be no sign of a struggle, either," she added thoughtfully. "Strange..."

Just then, there was surge of arcane energy. Every mage in the room looked up, as they recognized the energy signature of an incoming teleport spell.

"Ah, perhaps that could be Vargoth?" said Instructor Viktor, trying to sound hopeful. "If it is, then I'm sure he'll be happy to explain what's going on."

As the burst of magic faded, everyone turned towards the centre of the room, to see who the new visitor was.

However, the person who had just materialized in the room was most definitely _not_ Archmage Vargoth. For one thing, she was female, and was dressed all in dark leather (except for her eyes, which were covered with goggles). She crouched in the middle of the floor, in what was clearly a defensive stance; in her right hand, she gripped a dagger tightly, as if poised to attack.

As all the mages stared at her, dumbfounded, the intruder finally seemed to notice their presence. She stood up, pushed the goggles up from her eyes, and then blinked.

"Um... Where exactly am I?" she asked.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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I know Jadaar and Asric are supposed to be in this story, but I promise that they'll show up, starting with the next chapter. ;)


	2. Prisoners of Our Own Device

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. World of Warcraft and all related characters are property of Blizzard, and are used without permission. (Any original characters were created by myself however, and may not be used without permission.)

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World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel"

by Avi

Chapter 1: "Prisoners of Our Own Device"

Later that morning, down at the underground inn of Cantrips and Crows, Jadaar sullenly nursed a mug of honey mead at his usual table.

Here he was, a former peacekeeper of Shattrath, stuck in a _sewer_ of all places, in a foreign city where he didn't know anyone, except for one person... Who just happened to be the same person who cost him his job, in the first place.

The draenei narrowed his good eye and glared across the room at Asric, who was currently sitting at the bar. His only consolation was that the blood elf had lost his position as Investigator, as well...

As Jadaar turned his attention back to his drink, he overheard the innkeeper call out the elf's name.

"Hey Asric, you're going to love this," said the innkeeper, as he leaned over the bar.

"What is it, Ajay?" replied Asric, who was currently toying with a half-finished glass of Dalaran Red (though Jadaar knew for a fact that the blood elf would drink anything that was placed in front of him, these days).

As the two bent their heads in conversation, Jadaar found himself rolling his eyes. There wasn't much to do down here in the sewers, apart from drink (unless you were interested in the black market, or gladiatorial fights); although the more enterprising (or bored) adventurers would try to fish the murky waters for treasure.

However, it was a good place to hear gossip; somehow, all the dirty little secrets from the magical city above ended up down here... _Kind of like this mead,_ mused Jadaar sourly, as he peered down at the dregs of his drink.

And if there was one thing Jadaar had learned from his reluctant exile with Asric, it was that the blood elf had developed a taste for gossip.

Despite himself, Jadaar leaned forward, in order to listen in on their conversation.

"Rumour has it that a rogue was caught breaking into an archmage's personal quarters, in the Violet Citadel," said the innkeeper, in a hushed voice.

Asric raised an eyebrow. "They must be a pretty terrible thief, if they got caught," he pointed out.

"Well, there were a bunch of mages in the room at the time, when the thief teleported in... That's what I call bad luck."

Asric blinked in surprised. "Teleported? That's an odd mode of entry, for a thief."

"From what I hear, the room was magically sealed; the only way to get in was by teleport spell." The innkeeper shook his head. "That's mages for you... Gotta make everything more complicated."

"But a teleport spell..." mused Asric. "I find it very hard to believe that some penny ante thief could get their hands on a spell that would actually take them into a mage's personal quarters."

"Oh, but it gets even better. The archmage who lives in that room? I've heard he's gone missing. Of course, the mages think that the rogue had something to do with it; I hear they've got her locked up in one of their towers right now, for questioning."

"Her?"

"Yeah, the rogue is a woman. I heard it's Eliza Hawkeye; knew her back in Stormwind." The innkeeper shook his head. "Shame, really... I thought she had more sense than that."

"Is that so?" said Asric thoughtfully. "Thanks, Ajay." He paid the innkeeper for his drink, then strolled back to his usual table, where Jadaar was sitting.

"I assume you overheard all that?" he asked the draenei. "I could tell that you were eavesdropping."

Jadaar shrugged; there was no point in denying it. "So some rogue got caught sneaking around in the wizard's tower... Big deal." He took a gulp of his mead.

Asric raised an elegant eyebrow. "Big deal?" he repeated. "You must be drunk, draenei... Since when don't you care about the welfare of others?"

"And since when do _you_ care?" retorted Jadaar, putting down his tankard with a thud. "Besides, this is a foreign city, not Shattrath... And even if it were Shattrath, it's not like we couldn't do a thing about it; we lost our jobs, remember?"

There was a crafty gleam in Asric's green eyes. Jadaar noticed this, and glared.

"You're up to something, blood elf." The draenei turned his attention back to his drink. "And I want no part of it."

"Even if it could get us our jobs back?"

The mug paused, halfway to Jadaar's lips. "How do you figure that?" he asked.

Asric pulled out a chair and sat next to him.

"Listen," began the elf, in a low voice. "This case has all the trappings of a classic locked-room mystery. If we managed to solve it, and find the missing archmage, our superiors in Shattrath would be sure to hear about it... Then they'd be so impressed, that they'd _have_ to give us back our jobs!"

Jadaar looked skeptical. "I don't know, Asric... I am certain that the Kirin Tor would not like a couple of outsiders poking their noses into their personal business."

"I'm not saying that we should interfere with their investigation," soothed Asric. "Just that we make a few inquiries of our own; on the side, of course."

"Well... I suppose that would be all right..." said Jadaar slowly.

"I thought you would agree," said Asric, looking smug. "And to start off our investigation, I think we should dig up some information about the rogue who was caught during the break-in; I think her name was Eliza Hawkeye..."

Jadaar glared at Asric. "Why are you staring at me, elf? Oh, I get it... You want _me_ to do a background check on her."

"Why not? You still have your contacts on the Alliance side, right?"

Jadaar looked taken aback. "Well... yes, but--"

"Then it's settled," said Asric, rising to his feet. "We'll meet back here at Cantrips and Crows in an hour, all right?"

"But wait, what are _you_ going to--"

But the blood elf had already run off. Jadaar looked annoyed, but then shrugged.

_Well, looks like I'm stuck running around for a while,_ he thought, with a sigh. _Still... Looking for clues is far more interesting than drinking myself stupid in this sewer, I suppose..._

xXx

It was over an hour later. Jadaar was sitting at his usual table at Cantrips and Crows, when Asric strolled into the inn.

"You're late," Jadaar growled.

"Sorry about that," said Asric pleasantly. "I had an errand to finish up. Well, what did you find out?"

Jadaar opened his mouth to complain, but then shut it, realizing that it was pointless. Reaching into his breastplate, he pulled out a small journal, and opened it.

"Let's see..." The draenei peered at the pages with his good eye. "Elizabeth Hawkeye, also known as Eliza. Human female rogue, formerly from Stormwind. Age, 28. Hair, blonde. Height--"

"Yes, yes, you can skip all the minor details," said Asric impatiently. "Any information relevant to the case?"

"Well..." began Jadaar slowly. "She does work for SI:7."

Asric raised an eyebrow. "You mean Stormwind Intelligence? Oh, the Kirin Tor is going _love_ that; that'll tweak a few wizards' beards, if they think the Alliance is spying on them..."

"But she's not really a spy," explained Jadaar. "According to my contacts, she only works for SI:7 as a cryptographer; her specialty is deciphering coded documents."

"Ah, so she's more of a paper pusher."

Jadaar nodded. "Correct. She _is_ trained as a thief, but I was told that this Eliza would much rather have her nose in a book, than a dagger in her hand."

"So the question is, how did this alleged bookworm get into a magically sealed room?" mused Asric. "Good work, Jadaar."

"Gee thanks, elf," said Jadaar sarcastically. "And what were _you_ doing while I was running around Stormwind?"

"Actually, I was gathering information on the missing archmage," replied Asric. "Why? Did you think I'd be sitting here at the bar, while you were doing all the legwork?"

"Well... Yes, actually," confessed the draenei.

"You think so little of me," said Asric, sounding amused. "Anyways, about that archmage... Do you remember that haunted village in southeastern Netherstorm?"

"You mean the one crawling with mage ghosts? Say... Wasn't that village founded by an Alliance expedition led by the Kirin Tor?"

Asric nodded. "That's right. Well, it seems that our missing archmage was their leader."

Jadaar looked shocked. "He survived that massacre?"

"He was the _only_ survivor," said Asric, in a grim tone. "It seems that Kael'thas himself magically imprisoned the archmage in the tower over there; it was only recently that this Vargoth was freed by passing adventurers."

"How did you find _that_ out?" asked Jadaar, suspiciously.

"I travelled over to Netherstorm and had a talk with Archmage Vargoth's former apprentice, Ravandwyr," retorted the blood elf. "I also found out that Vargoth's experiences in Outland left him with an extreme case of agoraphobia; ever since he came back to Dalaran, Archmage Vargoth hasn't once left his room in the Violet Citadel."

"Until now," mused Jadaar. "So in other words, it's not likely that Vargoth left his room willingly..."

"Which makes the rogue's presence in his room even more suspicious," added Asric. "Or maybe it was just bad timing..."

"Well, now what?" asked the draenei, irritably. "There isn't much more that we can do, unless we can find out what actually happened up in that tower room."

"Not to worry," said Asric, sounding smug. "I did find out who Vargoth's current apprentice is; her name is Miki, and I heard that she was the first one to discover that he had gone missing, and was even in the room when the rogue appeared. If we can get her alone, we might be able to question her about what happened."

Jadaar snorted. "How are we supposed to do that? Won't the mages keep her isolated because of what she knows?"

"She's still an apprentice, and apprentices _always_ have to run around doing menial tasks for elder wizards," Asric pointed out. "I got her description, so all we have to do is wait outside the Violet Citadel until she shows up."

Jadaar narrowed his good eye. "You don't mean--"

"Afraid so," Asric sighed. "We're going on a stake out."

The draenei groaned. "Great..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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I've always been fond of Jadaar and Asric, and the thought of them turning into private eyes in order to get their old jobs back, amuses me (I figure Asric earned his old title as Investigator, for a reason, right?) Either that, or I've been watching too many detective shows...


	3. The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. World of Warcraft and all related characters are property of Blizzard, and are used without permission. (Any original characters were created by myself however, and may not be used without permission.)

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World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel"

by Avi

Chapter 2: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"

It was mid-afternoon in Dalaran, when a tiny red-robed figure tottered out of the Violet Citadel, barely visible behind the pile of books she carried; in fact, the only recognizable part of her was a pair of black pigtails bouncing behind her head.

It was a wonder that she could even _see_ where she was going; so it was rather inevitable when an ill-placed cobblestone caused the pile of books she was carrying, to spill to the ground.

As the flustered mage struggled to pick up her books, a large figure detached itself from a nearby wall to help her. As she looked up at her saviour, she saw the face of a draenei with an eyepatch over his right eye, and a kindly expression on his face.

"Could you use some help, little one?" asked Jadaar, with a smile.

After the draenei offered to carry the majority of the books for the young mage, they dropped them off at The Scribe's Sacellum, just down the street. As they exited the shop, Jadaar pointed at a cart across the way.

"Say, I feel like having a bit of a snack," he told the girl pleasantly. "Would you like something as well?"

As the two headed towards the cart, they walked past an auburn-haired blood elf who was leaning against the wall of the shop; he narrowed his eyes, as they passed.

xXx

A few moments later, Jadaar and the young mage (who had shyly introduced herself as Miki) were sitting on a bench in the shadow of the giant statue of Archmage Antonidas, munching on a couple of doughnuts that the draenei had bought from the nearby cart.

Though he hid it well, Jadaar was somewhat pleased with how easily he had gained the girl's trust... Even though he was still annoyed at Asric for putting him up to it.

_"Why do I have to be the one to approach her?" protested Jadaar, earlier. "You're the one with more experience at questioning others, not I."_

_"But she's just a little girl," explained Asric. "Still a child, really... And you're better with children than I am."_

_It was true; as a former peacekeeper of Shattrath, Jadaar had much experience with dealing with the orphaned children that often ended up in the city. The draenei was always amazed that even with the children of races that might consider his appearance 'monsterous' at first, they were still willing to trust in him, after a few moments... He chalked it up to the innocence (and perceptiveness) of youth._

Still, the draenei couldn't help but think that the reason that Asric wanted Jadaar to be the one to approach Miki, was because that she happened to be a gnome. _I will never understand this obsession people have with draenei and gnomes..._ he grumbled to himself.

Even Jadaar noticed that there was something ageless about gnomes, a childlike quality about them that they never seemed to outgrow... Yet despite this, the draenei could tell that Miki was pretty young, even by gnome standards; she couldn't be much older than a child. She also lacked the usual boundless enthusiam that most other gnomes had; that struck him as odd.

"What's the matter, little one?" he asked Miki, who was still absentmindedly nibbling at her doughnut. "You seem sad."

Miki looked surprised, and put down her snack. "Oh! It's just... My master has gone missing and..." Her eyes then widened, and she averted her eyes. "I really shouldn't be talking about this..." she added, in a small voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," replied Jadaar, with genuine concern. "But I can see that it's bothering you... Perhaps you can tell me just a little bit about it? It might make you feel better."

"Well..."

Miki was reluctant at first, but with some coaxing, Jadaar managed to get her to tell him exactly what had happened in Vargoth's tower room earlier; he especially paid close attention to the details he hadn't heard until now.

After the gnome had finished speaking, Jadaar questioned her. "So, do you think that rogue might've kidnapped Archmage Vargoth?"

Miki shook her head vehemently. "No, I don't think so. Even though she was armed, she looked really confused when she appeared in the room; she even asked where she was. But she didn't seem to want to tell the other mages how she teleported into my master's room; that's why she was taken away for questioning."

"And the other mages have no idea where Vargoth went?"

The gnome hung her head. "No, they cast all sorts of spells to try and find him, but they didn't seem to work; all their spells pointed to him being somewhere around the room, but since they already searched there, they thought the room's magical shielding was interfering with their spells..."

Miki's eyes then welled up with tears. "Wherever he is, I hope that my master is all right..." She began to sob.

At this, Jadaar felt a little uncomfortable for pressing her for information. "There, there," he told Miki, and patted her on the shoulder.

_"Ask her if Vargoth acted strangely before he disappeared,"_ whispered a voice, close to Jadaar's ear.

The draenei stiffened at this. Jadaar had known that Asric would be nearby the whole time he had been questioning the gnome, but the elf's voice sounded _far_ too close for comfort; fortunately, Miki didn't seem to have heard a word. It seemed that Asric was much stealthier than Jadaar had gave him credit for...

Reluctantly, Jadaar repeated Asric's question. "Miki, did your master act strangely before he disappeared?"

The gnome wiped her tears. "Not any stranger than usual... I mean, he asked me to bring him breakfast every morning, but there's nothing really strange about that, him being a shut-in, and all..."

The draenei seemed to pause, as if listening for something, and then asked, "Are you sure about that? Didn't Vargoth make any requests that struck you as odd? Over the past week, perhaps?"

Miki looked thoughtful for a moment. "Um, well... Now that you mention it, he did ask me to do something weird, about a week ago..."

"Oh? What was it?"

"He gave me a set of apprentice mage textbooks, and asked me to take them to different places in the city."

Jadaar's brow furrowed. "But what is so strange about that? Didn't I just help you deliver some books, a while ago?"

"Yes, but... He asked me to put them in the weirdest places," explained Miki. "In fact, he told me to hide the books in places where people wouldn't notice them right away; I'm still not sure why he did that..."

Jadaar heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. Even without Asric saying another word, the draenei knew that they might have stumbled over some important information... He decided to press Miki for more details.

"Miki, do you think you can remember where all those books are?" asked Jadaar.

"I think so..." said the gnome slowly. "But why do you want to know?"

The draenei then smiled. "Because I think it may help us find out where your master is."

As Miki's eyes lit up, Jadaar could swear that Asric was smugly smirking over his shoulder.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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As you might've noticed, I decided to write Asric as a rogue in this story (I was originally going to make him a mage, but his current armour does look more like leather, rather than cloth).


	4. Da Vargoth Code

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. World of Warcraft and all related characters are property of Blizzard, and are used without permission. (Any original characters were created by myself however, and may not be used without permission.)

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World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel"

by Avi

Chapter 3: "Da Vargoth Code"

The Violet Hold was where Dalaran imprisoned its most dangerous criminals; because of this, many of the regular citizens avoided the place. That meant that there usually wasn't much traffic outside its walls, apart for the mage guards that patrolled the area.

So when one of the guards heard a pair of voices close to his post, he idly listened in on their conversation.

"Are you certain that the book is around here, Jadaar?"

"Absolutely. But I still don't understand how this will lead us to Archmage Vargoth..."

"Well, it's not like we have any other leads at the moment, do we?"

The voices faded into the distance. The guard then shrugged, and resumed his watch.

xXx

Meanwhile, Jadaar and Asric were currently wandering through one of the alleyways in front of the Violet Hold.

"That book has to be around here somewhere; we've looked everywhere else in the area," grumbled Jadaar.

"Ah, there it is..." Asric pointed to a crate at the end of the alley; Jadaar could just make out a book sitting atop it.

As the elf picked up the book and blew the dust off it, Jadaar glanced at the title.

"'The Schools of Arcane Magic'," read the draenei. "This is definitely one of the books Miki was talking about."

Asric closed his eyes. "This book practically reeks of magic..." he murmured.

"Why shouldn't it? After all, it did belong to a mage."

"But it's an apprentice textbook," pointed out Asric. "It shouldn't have _this_ much magic surrounding it; I can practically drain it out of the air."

Jadaar decided to take Asric's word for it; he was a blood elf after all, and was naturally very sensitive to powerful sources of magic. Still, the draenei couldn't resist voicing just a little bit of doubt.

Jadaar raised an eyebrow. "Strange, elf... You didn't seem so sensitive to magic, when we were investigating that troll back in Shattrath."

"That's because his merchandise was about as magical as a rock on the ground," snapped Asric. "At any rate, there are some very powerful spells cast upon this book; I'm guessing that we wouldn't be able to take it away from here." He opened the book and began to read.

"Well, this _looks_ just like an ordinary textbook," mused the elf. "Wait... There are some handwritten notes in the margins."

"I don't suppose any of those mention where Vargoth is?" said Jadaar sourly.

"No, but... There _is_ something odd about the writing. Could you hand me your journal, and something to write with, please?"

Jadaar took out his journal and handed it to Asric, along with a pencil. Asric placed the other book back on the crate, and flicked through its pages, while occasionally taking notes in Jadaar's journal.

"There's a magical aura surrounding every capitalized letter," muttered Asric under his breath, as he scribbled in the journal.

The draenei waited impatiently, until Asric had finished writing; it was only then that he questioned the elf.

"So what did you find out?" asked Jadaar.

Asric shook his head, as he tucked the journal under his arm. "I'm not sure yet... And I'm afraid that I can't be certain of anything until I check out the rest of the books."

Jadaar heaved a sigh. "Then we'd better get going; according to Miki, we have seven more books to look for."

xXx

Since Jadaar and Asric knew the locations of the remaining books, they weren't difficult to find; however, it _was_ time consuming, since they were scattered throughout the city. As the two wandered in and out of the various shops and buildings of Dalaran, they caught a few odd looks from some of the shopkeepers (and at least one dirty look from an innkeeper, for loitering too long). So, by the time they had found all the books and taken enough notes, it was close to nightfall.

At this point, both men were exhausted from running around the city... They both collapsed onto a nearby bench, and tried to catch their breath.

"I am beginning to wonder if this Vargoth had a sick sense of humour," growled the draenei.

"It does seem rather perverse, doesn't it?" agreed Asric, who was trying not to slouch and failing miserably.

"Did we even learn _anything_ from this wild goose chase?"

"Not yet; I may have some idea, though," mused Asric, as he opened Jadaar's journal. "But first, I'll have to sort these passages, in the order of the books I found them in."

After heading into one of the shops to buy some parchment and ink, both men walked into a nearby inn, and found a table in the corner. Jadaar then watched, as Asric started to copy the notes he took, onto the parchment.

The draenei peered down at the parchment. "I can't read what you're writing there, Asric... Do you even know what that says?"

The blood elf shook his head. "No, but neither of us are mages, are we?"

Asric wrote the final word with a flourish. Instantly, the ink glowed for a moment, and sank into the parchment. Both men then stared blankly at the finished document.

Jadaar was the first to speak. "Isn't that a...?"

"I believe so," said Asric grimly. "And I think we should go to the Violet Citadel and find that little gnome apprentice of Vargoth's... _Right now._"

xXx

It wasn't easy trying to find a tiny mage in a large complex like the Violet Citadel... Not to mention that there were only so many places that visitors had access to. But as he and Asric reached the top of a tower that was actually open to the public, Jadaar immediately caught a glimpse of a short figure with a pair of black ponytails, standing outside on the balcony.

"Oh, hello again," greeted Miki, after the draenei had tapped her on the shoulder. "I was just looking at the view of Dalaran from up here." She sighed. "Archmage Vargoth used to tell me how he loved watching the city from this spot..."

"Forgive my intrusion, little one," said Jadaar politely. "But my... companion has something to ask of you." He nudged Asric, who was staring over the railing, at one of the other towers.

"Hmmm?" said Asric, sounding preoccupied. He then shook his head. "Oh, yes..." He pulled out the freshly-inked parchment and handed it to the gnome. "Tell me Miki, can you tell what's written on here?"

Miki looked at Jadaar uncertainly, who gave her an encouraging nod. She then took the parchment from Asric and peered at it.

"This looks like a teleport scroll of some sort..." As she continued reading, her eyes widened in recognition. "Wait a minute... This is the exact same spell that I use to enter Archmage Vargoth's room!" She stared at the two men, bewildered. "How did you get a hold of this?"

Jadaar and Asric glanced at each other.

"It's a long story..." said the draenei.

xXx

It was early evening when Jadaar and Asric finally left the Violet Citadel. After having explained everything to Miki, they had decided to leave the teleport scroll with the young mage, so she could take it to her superiors.

"Well, that teleport scroll should clear the imprisoned rogue of any suspicion," said Asric, "since it does explain how she got into Archmage Vargoth's room."

Jadaar nodded. "Eliza must've read one of the books that Vargoth had left around the city, and noticed the notes that he wrote in the margins."

"And since she's a cryptographer, it couldn't be that hard for her to figure out the code, and copy it down," added Asric.

Jadaar then looked thoughtful. "But why did she use the teleport scroll in the first place? Didn't she realize that it could get her into trouble?"

"Of course she did; that's why she drew her weapon when she teleported," pointed out Asric. "And I'm sure that it was her pride as a codebreaker that prevented her from asking anyone where the scroll might lead to, and from telling the mages where she got it in the first place."

"I see," said Jadaar. "Still, I don't understand why Vargoth would leave that teleport spell for just anyone to find..."

"I suspect that it's because that he was lonely," explained Asric. "Remember, Archmage Vargoth never leaves his room, and yet his apprentice said that he craved company; I suppose that the teleport scroll was his roundabout way of having people visit him."

"That's a strange way to go about meeting people," muttered Jadaar. He then sighed. "And yet after all this work, we still don't know where Archmage Vargoth is..."

"Actually," said Asric, in a serious tone, "I have a sneaking suspicion I know Vargoth's current location."

Jadaar's jaw dropped. "You _do?!_" he exclaimed. "Well, where _is_ he?"

"First, let's head over to the city's landing pad," began Asric. "I'll explain on the way."

TO BE CONTINUED...

xXxXx

BTW, this part of the story is in fact inspired by the "Higher Learning" achievement; I know this isn't exactly how the achievement works in-game, but I'll try to explain why that is, in the final chapter. (Oh, and anyone who can figure out where Vargoth is by the next chapter, gets a cookie. ;)


	5. Higher Learning

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. World of Warcraft and all related characters are property of Blizzard, and are used without permission. (Any original characters were created by myself however, and may not be used without permission.)

xXxXx

World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel"

by Avi

Chapter 4: "Higher Learning"

"I don't like this," complained Jadaar aloud, as he tightly gripped the reins of his gryphon. He and Asric were currently flying through the night sky, around the magical glowing dome surrounding Dalaran.

Asric flew up next to the draenei, on his wyvern. "Don't tell me that you're afraid of flying, you old blowhard," he mocked.

"Flying, no. Falling, yes," said Jadaar, gritting his teeth. "Isn't there a no-fly zone surrounding Dalaran?"

"Well, yes. But you know very well that a levitate spell activates if you fly too close, so it's not like you'll fall to your death."

"I _still_ don't like it. Besides, I'm certain that the wizards wouldn't like us flying around their tower... Isn't why they put in the no-fly zone?"

"I always thought that was because they didn't want passing adventurers to peep at the female apprentices," commented Asric.

"Very droll. Why are we up here, anyways?"

"I already explained it to you; we're trying to find out where Archmage Vargoth is."

"But are you certain that we'll be able to see anything from up here?" asked Jadaar doubtfully. "It is nighttime, after all."

"That's true... Then let's see how close we can fly to the Violet Citadel." Asric steered his mount towards the tower.

"But--" protested Jadaar, but the blood elf was already out of earshot. Muttering under his breath, he steered his gryphon until he had caught up to the elf.

As he reached the Asric's side, the elf pointed to one of the towers far below them. "Jadaar, can you see anything down there?"

The draenei squinted his good eye, as he stared down below. "There appears to be a light over there... It almost looks like a campfire."

"The question is, what is it doing on the roof of that tower?" mused Asric. "Let's go see if we can take a closer look."

Against Jadaar's better judgment, they both swooped down towards the tower... Then suddenly, the draenei felt the familliar tingle of passing through a magical barrier.

"We've crossed the no-fly zone!" cried out Jadaar, in alarm.

Both the animals they were riding shrieked in surprise, and dumped their riders at the same time. Just then, the levitate spell surrounding the city activated, and both Jadaar and Asric were floating slowly and safely in the air.

"Try and land on the roof of the tower, where we saw the light," said Asric, as he floated close to Jadaar. The draenei nodded grimly, in reply.

Fortunately for them, the spot they were aiming for wasn't too far below; the levitate spell wore off, just as both of them landed lightly on the domed roof.

Jadaar wiped the sweat from his brow. "That was close," he said, and took a step back.

Unfortunately for Jadaar, the place where he had landed was where the dome of the roof began to slope down; the draenei cursed as his hoof skidded, causing to him to lose his balance.

Just when Jadaar thought he was going to fall to his doom, he felt someone grab his hand; the draenei slammed against the slope of the dome, with a grunt.

"Ugh... Have you gained weight, windbag?" groaned Asric. He lay flat on the roof, as he tried to pull up his companion.

"You're more of a pansy than I thought, elf," retorted Jadaar, wondering why he was resorting to insults at such a time. He felt himself sliding further down the roof, and dragging the elf with him. "Leave me be!" he yelled.

"And have you land on some passerby far below? You'd never let me live it down."

It was then that it finally occurred to Jadaar, that as much as he and Asric would snipe at each other, he wouldn't have done half of the things Asric had asked of him today, if he didn't trust the elf... And even though Jadaar had had his doubts, he was now certain that Asric would've done the same for him, too. As much as either of them would try to deny it, they were unmistakably friends now.

Just then, the end of a staff dangled close to Jadaar's face. Instinctively, the draenei grabbed it with his free hand, and felt himself being pulled up by both Asric, and the owner of the staff. They both then helped Jadaar to his feet.

"Thank you. Both of you," said the draenei gratefully. As Asric clapped him affectionately on the shoulder, Jadaar turned to look at the newcomer.

There was no doubt that this person was a mage of some sort; he fit the classic image of a sorcerer, with his pointed hat and purple robes.

"I appreciate the thanks, but it's really unnecessary," said the mage, as he leaned upon his staff. "There's actually a balcony around the edge of this dome, so you probably wouldn't have fallen off the building."

Jadaar and Asric both stared blankly at him, then glanced over the the edge of the roof. Sure enough, there was a balcony with a railing just a few feet below, where they were standing.

The draenei and elf looked at each other, then averted their gazes hurriedly, in silent agreement to _never_ speak of this incident again.

"I certainly wasn't expecting any visitors up here," continued the mage, who didn't seem to notice the uneasy silence. He walked towards the middle of the dome, where a campfire was lit. "Still, I have plenty of food... Would you like something to eat?"

He gestured around him. There was a veritable feast surrounding the campfire; there was even a roast suckling pig, waiting to be carved.

"Er, that's all right..." said Jadaar uncertainly. He glanced at Asric, who was staring at a pile of picnic baskets stacked to the side.

"How about something to drink?" I may have some wine somewhere..."

"Excuse me," interrupted Asric suddenly, "but are you Archmage Vargoth?"

The mage blinked in surprise. "Why, yes. How did you know who I am?"

"We've met your apprentice, Miki," explained Jadaar. "She's very worried about you."

A look of guilt crossed Vargoth's face. "Poor Miki! I completely forgot about her; she must've wondered where I went..."

"She not the only one," said Asric, looking serious. "The rest of the Kirin Tor is searching for you, as well."

As Vargoth's eyes widened, Jadaar and Asric took turns in explaining what had happened in earlier, in the tower room. When they had finished, the archmage looked ashamed of himself.

"To think, I caused so much trouble..." he said weakly. "That poor rogue, being imprisoned for my sake..."

"So you _were_ the one who planted that teleport spell in those apprentice books," said Asric, narrowing his eyes.

Vargoth nodded wearily. "I've had very few visitors, since I came back from Outland; and yet I haven't been able to leave my room, since then... I was just a prisoner there, of my own device." He sighed. "So I devised the hidden code, in hopes of attracting the curious and observant."

"But aren't you outside your room, right now?" pointed out Jadaar.

"In the most literal sense," said Asric. "We're currently standing on the roof of your tower room, aren't we, Archmage Vargoth?"

The archmage hung his head. "That's right. I thought that if I could manage to stay out here for a bit, then I could get used to the idea of leaving my room..."

_It's a good thing that he doesn't have a fear of heights as well..._ thought Jadaar, warily eyeing the edge of the roof.

Archmage Vargoth turned away, to stare out at the magical city below.

"I wasn't planning to stay out here for very long," he said quietly. "But I had forgotten how much I missed the view of Dalaran from up here." He heaved a sigh. "Such a lovely place..."

Vargoth then looked back at Jadaar and Asric. "But I suppose I should return to my room now, and inform Archmage Modera of my whereabouts."

"Wait," said Jadaar, holding up a hand. "Before you go, I'd like to ask you one thing."

"Certainly," replied Vargoth.

"Um... Could you please teleport us both to the ground first?" asked the draenei, looking sheepish.

TO BE CONCLUDED...

xXxXx

This was probably the chapter I enjoyed writing the most, as it allowed me a little more snarky interaction between the characters without bogging down the mystery aspect (I hope ;). Nothing but the Epilogue left; hope you've been enjoying reading so far!


	6. Epilogue

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. World of Warcraft and all related characters are property of Blizzard, and are used without permission. (Any original characters were created by myself however, and may not be used without permission.)

xXxXx

World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel"

by Avi

Epilogue

The next morning, Jadaar and Asric sat at their usual table at Cantrips and Crows, idly discussing everything they had been through the previous day, over drinks.

Asric sulked into his wineglass. "All that work, and we didn't even get paid for it..."

"You're the one who didn't want to involve the authorities," reminded Jadaar, in amused tones.

"But I was hoping we'd get _some_ recognition for all this," complained the blood elf.

"I'm sure the Kirin Tor is probably embarassed about the whole situation," explained the draenei. "Missing one of their mages in their own tower? I can't blame them for wanting to cover that up." Jadaar paused in thought, for a moment. "By the way, how _did_ you know where Archmage Vargoth was?" he asked the elf.

Asric shrugged. "It was more of a guess, really. Do you remember when we were up on the balcony of the Violet Citadel? Well, I thought I could see a light on top the roof of the tower across from us; I wasn't sure, though."

Jadaar glared at him. "You weren't _sure_?"

"Well, I knew that Vargoth couldn't be too far from his room. Why else would the mages' scrying spells keep telling them that he was nearby?" The elf shrugged again. "I'm sure they would've figured it out eventually, but the appearance of the rogue distracted them."

The draenei nodded. "It was just bad luck, that she showed up when she did."

It was then that Jadaar felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Pardon me..." said a female voice.

The draenei turned, to see a blonde human wearing dark leather standing behind him.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation," continued the woman, "but I was was wondering... Are you Jadaar?"

"Er, yes," replied the draenei. "And you are...?"

"My name is Eliza Hawkeye," said the woman, with a smile. "And I believe I have you to thank, for getting me out of that sticky situation, yesterday."

"Um..." Jadaar cast uneasy glance at Asric. "Well, to be honest, my companion here did a lot of the detective work--"

"Actually, it was more of a team effort," interrupted the blood elf, with a wry smile.

"Then I offer my thanks to both of you," said Eliza, smiling at Asric, as well. "That little gnome mage told me about you two; since you helped out both of us, I thought that the least I could do is return the favour." She pulled out a pouch filled with gold, which she placed on the table.

"But we couldn't possibly accept--" began Jadaar, then caught a poisonous glare from Asric. "Er, I mean, we would be happy to accept your reward," he corrected himself hastily.

"I wish I could offer you more than that," admitted Eliza. "Still, if you ever need any help from SI:7, let me know."

"Just put in a good word for us, to our old superiors in Shattrath," said Asric, smirking. "Let them know what they've lost."

At this, Eliza laughed. "I'll be sure to do that."

Eliza then turned to leave; that was when Jadaar noticed something strange beside her.

"Um... Eliza? What _is_ that?" asked the draenei, trying not to stare.

"Oh, this?" she replied, and moved aside.

Jadaar could now see the odd creature clearly; it reminded him of one of the strange, amorphous creatures that warlocks summoned, only paler in colour, and smaller in stature.

"Isn't that an arcane elemental?" asked Asric.

Eliza nodded. "Archmage Vargoth gave it to me," she explained. "He felt bad about what happened, but still wanted to thank me for figuring out his code; so he gave me one of his familiars, as a reward. Isn't it cute?"

Jadaar and Asric stared at the creature blankly; it returned their look with the same stare.

"Yes... Cute," repeated Jadaar.

He exchanged a glance with Asric. They both knew about the acquisitive natures of the adventurers visiting Dalaran; they were always suckers for something new and unusual, and Eliza's odd new pet would definitely qualify.

After Eliza had thanked them again and left, Jadaar mused, "I wonder how long it will take before someone reads those books again, and finds the teleport spell..."

Asric shrugged. "Who knows?"

"But now that that the Kirin Tor knows about it, you don't suppose that they might make it easier? For poor Vargoth's sake?" asked Jadaar.

Asric snorted. "Oh, like Rhonin would go along with _that_."

Jadaar looked thoughtful. "Still, I suspect that once everyone sees that new pet of Eliza's, then _everyone_ will want one."

The blood elf laughed at this. "I think you're right, Jadaar. Vargoth may have visitors sooner than he expects."

Jadaar lifted his tankard. "Then I propose a toast to Archmage Vargoth."

Asric raised his wineglass. "To Vargoth, it is," he said, with a smirk. "After all, it is partly thanks to him, that we have gold lining our pockets again."

The elf tapped his glass against Jadaar's mug with a contented clink.

END

xXxXx

I actually started writing this story before I discovered Jadaar and Asric had been moved to the Argent tourney grounds (although I'd like use this story as an excuse to why they appear to be on better terms now ;). I've also always had a soft spot for the "Higher Learning" achievement; my main is a mage, and the first thing he did once he hit 71 was head over to Dalaran and look for the books (I got the pet 3 days later ;P).

I must admit, Eliza Hawkeye is based on my own rogue (who in turn is named after an anime character; they bear no resemblance in personality, however). Miki is a blatantly obvious Disney reference. :P (On a related note, the robes that Vargoth wears is part of the Sorcerer's Regalia set.) And Instructor Viktor is a small shout out to my guild's mage class leader, who is the one of the best players I am privileged to know. :)

As always, any feedback on this story would be most appreciated!


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